"Dear Santa, after this divorce
I’d like a self-improvement course.
But forty’s gone and time is short,
So, give me the pre-packaged sort..."

This book came into being because in my family we like to give meaningful gifts, things that shout someone’s name when we see them in a shop, or—even better—things we make ourselves.

Unfortunately, I can’t paint, or sew, or produce art with anything other than words or music. Fortunately, my mother loves poetry. So, a couple of years ago I put together a booklet of some of my little ditties and gave them to her for her birthday.

She loved them. I know she did, because she told me so at the time and on several occasions since then, and Mum’s not one for saying something just to be polite. As a writer, I was rapt that she enjoyed the work. As a daughter, I was thrilled to have made her happy.

So when she called me up a few weeks ago and told me she wanted a very specific Christmas present I thought she might want a large print version of the Birthday Book.

But no. She wanted me to put the book up on the Internet for sale so other people could enjoy it as she had.

So, here it is, and I hope you do—enjoy it, I mean.

Gracie O’Neil
November 2014